terry smithNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94terry smithThu, 21 Dec 2017 12:59:11 +0000terry smithhttp://kbia.org
Terry SmithA year ago last week Donald Trump was officially chosen president by the Electoral College. Had 77 thousand voters in three states – Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania – voted for Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump, Ms. Clinton would have not only won the popular vote by three million, she would also have narrowly won the Electoral Vote. What would be different now had she been inaugurated on January 20 of this year, but everything else in D.C. stayed the same, that is, a Republican House and Senate? You might be thinking this will be the shortest commentary ever, since the obvious answer is: Everything. Actually, not everything. Clearly, the difference list would be longer. Let’s start with domestic issues: · The Cabinet would look different – not mostly retired generals and rich white men. · Obamacare reform proposals would be to lower the age for Medicare eligibility and to lower drug prices, not repeal-and-replace. · A $15 federal minimum wage, serious banking reform, andCommentary: Exploring an Alternate Political Historyhttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-exploring-alternate-political-history
117954 as http://kbia.orgWed, 20 Dec 2017 15:58:38 +0000Commentary: Exploring an Alternate Political HistoryTerry SmithPresident Trump’s Asia trip makes me think of – soccer. I love soccer. Columbia College has two nationally-ranked teams and I’m a big fan. I help my daughter coach a recreation league team here in Columbia that my granddaughters and grandson play on. I coached youth soccer for many years when we lived in Kirksville. So the pathetic failure of the U.S. men’s National team to qualify for next year’s World Cup by losing to Trinidad-Tobago, one of the worst teams in the world, is galling on many fronts. My soccer-loving family won’t get to enjoy watching the USA play next year. Worse, thousands of American youth will lose interest in soccer and return to their video games. And this is about politics how, you ask? Thank you for your patience. American soccer and American foreign policy have divergent, almost opposite histories. During the fifty-year period when American foreign policy was robust and coherent, USA soccer was awful. With the two odd exceptions of 1930, when the U.S. actuallyCommentary: Soccer and Foreign Policyhttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-soccer-and-foreign-policy
116232 as http://kbia.orgTue, 14 Nov 2017 22:45:00 +0000Commentary: Soccer and Foreign PolicyTerry SmithIn the last six months Boone County has seen two exemplary public servants step down. In January Karen Miller left the Southern District County Commission seat she had held for 24 years. Last week Wendy Noren resigned from her position as Boone County Clerk after 35 years.Commentary: Wendy Noren Did Her Job the Right Wayhttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-wendy-noren-did-her-job-right-way
109568 as http://kbia.orgTue, 20 Jun 2017 21:14:42 +0000Commentary: Wendy Noren Did Her Job the Right WayTerry SmithPlease indulge a few seconds of personal history. One of the reasons Columbia College, where I teach, has prospered in recent years is its online program. I have been heavily involved in online from its first days in the late 1990s and now teach online classes. I also update courses previously developed by other faculty. As I speak I am redeveloping our online class on the presidency. There are some, uh, challenges in updating a college course on the presidency in the summer of 2017. Until January of this year there were a lot of things that were permanent about the presidency. Everything in the Constitution about the president is fixed: he’s the chief executive officer of the country; he’s chosen by the Electoral College, not the popular vote; he is commander in chief; he vetoes legislation or signs it into law; he grants pardons and reprieves; proposes treaties; receives ambassadors; and appoints judges and other federal officials. The list is short and vague. The Founding FathersCommentary: Trump's Imprinthttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-trumps-imprint
109300 as http://kbia.orgWed, 14 Jun 2017 17:01:41 +0000Commentary: Trump's ImprintTerry SmithRemember Pope Benedict the Sixteenth? I’ll return to him in a moment. The news is so dynamic just now. It’s like waiting for the next shoe to drop from a centipede – not when but how many? The humorist Dorothy Parker had an appropriate phrase: “What fresh Hell is this?” So what has happened in just the last two weeks? President Trump fired FBI director James Comey. Perhaps Trump thought that he would become best friends forever with Democrats so he could get some Democratic votes for his legislative proposals. When it turned out the firing was probably because Comey would not pledge personal loyalty to Trump, lots of people in the Trump entourage ended up looking bad. Then President Trump gave the Russians extremely sensitive intelligence acquired by the Israelis. True -- the president, as commander-in-chief, can decide what is classified and can spill any secret he chooses to. For some reason this reminds me of the exchange after the Vietnam War between a retired North VietnameseCommentary: Two Wacky Weekshttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-two-wacky-weeks
108159 as http://kbia.orgFri, 19 May 2017 20:59:50 +0000Commentary: Two Wacky WeeksTerry SmithHere are three things Democrats should not do if they want to regain the majority. They should not be like Donald Trump and use profanity in public. Last week it was reported that the Democratic National Chairman said in public one of the words you can’t say on TV, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said one of the other ones, in its gerund form. Lots of Millennials talk this way and for some reason Trump can get away with talking this way. But “I am authentic because I am vulgar” is not a winning strategy for Democrats. Neither is fighting the culture wars. Conservatives just love it when Democrats man the barricades over transgender bathrooms and sanctuary cities. While these may be noble issues, and the fight may feel good, the issues are secondary and are certainly not the economic battles Democrats should be fighting. And they should not be threatening other Democrats, those in red states who have to vote with Republicans occasionally. Three Senators in states carriedCommentary: Democratic Dilemmashttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-democratic-dilemmas
106611 as http://kbia.orgTue, 18 Apr 2017 13:41:43 +0000Commentary: Democratic DilemmasTerry SmithDuring the 1991 Gulf War military commanders kept talking about a “target-rich environment” in Iraq and Kuwait. And indeed it was. And so is American politics in 2017. There is no shortage of subjects for analysis. So forgive me for returning to the same one repeatedly: President Trump. My shorthand for explaining Trump – or at least describing him – I’m not sure anyone can explain him – still works. In seven words: won’t change, doesn’t care, not a Republican. Interestingly, this shorthand is also beginning to describe Trump supporters .Commentary: The Fragility of the Trump Rebellionhttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-fragility-trump-rebellion
105705 as http://kbia.orgThu, 30 Mar 2017 13:15:56 +0000Commentary: The Fragility of the Trump RebellionTerry SmithAn important part of the research I do for these commentaries is to listen – to my students and coworkers at Columbia College, at my church, over my dinner table. Last summer and fall I was hearing. But I wasn’t listening. Had I actually been listening I would not have had Hillary Clinton all elected and inaugurated. It was an embarrassing and humbling experience. Here is – hopefully – a reset. Trump supporters I know are fairly quiet. I’ve not heard any regret or second-guessing yet. I think they are enjoying, perhaps a bit nervously, the circus, which now has six or seven rings, with more rings added daily. They are also watching all the demonstrations and disrupted town hall meetings and still thinking: “We won. You lost. Get over it.” Democrats and liberals – mostly synonymous these days – remain in a funk, and it’s a divided funk. They are united only in their opposition to the Trump agenda and administration. Their divisions are open wounds, but these wounds are not new. For one,Commentary: "A Proper Funeral"http://kbia.org/post/commentary-proper-funeral
103609 as http://kbia.orgTue, 14 Feb 2017 23:01:49 +0000Commentary: "A Proper Funeral"Terry SmithIf, as the old saying goes, past performance is the best predictor of future behavior, then I have a pretty good idea of what we can expect from President Trump. First, he won’t change how he behaves after January 20. Why should he? He gets to give the inaugural address, and not Hillary Clinton, in part because there was one constant Donald Trump, the one we’ve known for years. Love or hate how he behaves -- that’s how he’ll act when he’s president. Indeed, “acting presidential” is how Donald Trump is behaving at any given moment. It has nothing to do with people’s expectations of how a president “should behave.” Second, Donald Trump doesn’t care what anyone thinks. As he has said about himself, he’s pretty smart and knows more than the generals. If you don’t like what he says or what he does, that’s your problem. There is only one very interesting exception to this: when you attack him or his businesses personally. He will go after you with a targeted Tweet. A good example of this isCommentary: Don't Expect Trump to Change on January 20http://kbia.org/post/commentary-dont-expect-trump-change-january-20
102000 as http://kbia.orgMon, 09 Jan 2017 19:23:20 +0000Commentary: Don't Expect Trump to Change on January 20Next week I’ll give you most of my predictions for key elections. I’ll give you one today: Hillary Clinton will win the presidential election. I realize this revelation will send few of you to the fainting couch. Most observers are predicting this outcome, and with good reason. I have my reasons as well and I thought I’d look back at how I’ve been tracking the presidential race from this spot on the dial over the last year. Last October I said: “Candidates who have the best organizations usually prevail.” Yes, that’s one of the reasons Clinton will win. I also said: “Current celebrity GOP candidates will eventually flame out and a few fairly traditional candidates will fight it out for the nomination.” Remember one of the classic lines from the first Terminator movie, right before the cyborg played by Arnold Schwartzenegger creates gory mayhem in the gun shop? The line was: “Wrong.” Boy, was I ever. Last November I said that 2016 fundamentals favor Clinton serving Obama’s third term,Commentary: A Prediction On The Presidential Racehttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-prediction-presidential-race
99038 as http://kbia.orgTue, 01 Nov 2016 21:45:00 +0000Commentary: A Prediction On The Presidential RaceTerry SmithPoor white people have been in the news a lot lately. Most obviously they are a target voting group and natural constituency for Donald Trump. But they are also the subject of some interesting recent non-fiction books. One memoir entitled Hillbilly Elegy by a guy who grew up in rural Kentucky is actually a best seller, and a couple of others have had a real impact on how people think about this very large group of Americans.Commentary: Poor Whites Find Themselves Under the Microscopehttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-poor-whites-find-themselves-under-microscope
96342 as http://kbia.orgTue, 06 Sep 2016 17:46:01 +0000Commentary: Poor Whites Find Themselves Under the MicroscopeTerry SmithHave you noticed one of the side effects of reality TV? I guess people actually watch “Naked and Afraid” and “My 600-pound Self”. I only know about these shows because I surf past them on the way to professional cage fighting and Real Housewives of Las Vegas. Just kidding about cage fighting. But seriously, this programming makes voyeurs out of normal people, but more importantly, causes them to think differently about their social and political worlds.Commentary: Amidst a Reality TV Campaign, Here are the Presidential Election's Fundamentalshttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-amidst-reality-tv-campaign-here-are-presidential-elections-fundamentals
95692 as http://kbia.orgWed, 24 Aug 2016 17:31:00 +0000Commentary: Amidst a Reality TV Campaign, Here are the Presidential Election's FundamentalsTerry SmithHow did the parties do at the conventions? Using the late journalist David Broder’s guide here’s how I think they did:Commentary: Grading the Major Party Conventionshttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-grading-major-party-conventions
94982 as http://kbia.orgTue, 09 Aug 2016 18:34:00 +0000Commentary: Grading the Major Party ConventionsTerry SmithI am not a convention junkie. Mostly I read the day after about what went on. But I do watch two events live: the presidential nominee acceptance speeches. At the conclusion of each speech I turn off the TV and write down my impressions. I am not interested in what the talking heads have to say. Sometimes the next morning when I catch the analyses I wonder aloud: “Did those people watch the same speech I did?” Also I try to watch it as though I were an undecided voter just now getting interested in the campaigns, trying to answer the question: So who is this Donald Trump guy I’ve heard about and why should I vote for him? The comments I wrote about Trump’s speech were brief: · “Nothing new” · “Few specifics” · “Kept his voice and energy admirably” He kept his promise to make law and order the centerpiece. I was surprised that he spent rather more time attacking Barack Obama than Hillary Clinton, though his criticisms of her were certainly sharp. He went on and on about violent crimeCommentary: The Art of the Acceptance Speechhttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-art-acceptance-speech
94298 as http://kbia.orgTue, 26 Jul 2016 18:15:57 +0000Commentary: The Art of the Acceptance SpeechTerry SmithI just finished an interesting book entitled The Republic of Spin by historian and journalist David Greenberg. It is a history of how presidents have managed mass media.Commentary: Trump and the Mediahttp://kbia.org/post/commentary-trump-and-media
92091 as http://kbia.orgTue, 14 Jun 2016 15:27:24 +0000Commentary: Trump and the MediaI suppose it is possible for the 2016 presidential campaign to get more strange, and I expect it will. It is the best reality show ever. Here are some of the juicy parts: Millions of voters Feeling the Bern Trump and Cruz trading insults – about each other’s wives A Clinton campaign that has been declared too big to fail College students getting the vapors because some mean person chalked the word “Trump” on a sidewalk Even The Donald and Megan have made up. You can’t make this stuff up.Talking Politics - Reality Show Campaigns and Negative Adshttp://kbia.org/post/talking-politics-reality-show-campaigns-and-negative-ads
89270 as http://kbia.orgTue, 19 Apr 2016 15:47:55 +0000Talking Politics - Reality Show Campaigns and Negative AdsEarlier this year I compared Donald Trump to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi because no American came to mind. Since then an American has come to mind. This American was definitely a populist, finding passionate support among the dispossessed, discouraged and disillusioned. He had an outsized personality. He was unusually effective with his use of media.Talking Politics - A Huey Long Analogyhttp://kbia.org/post/talking-politics-huey-long-analogy
87693 as http://kbia.orgTue, 22 Mar 2016 16:44:33 +0000Talking Politics - A Huey Long AnalogyWelcome to Talking Politics. KBIA’s weekly show dedicated to talking about local and national politics. On this week’s show Dr. Terry Smith, KBIA’s regular political commentator and a political science professor at Columbia College is back in the studio with a commentary on what the term “ribbon clerks” means in the political arena.Talking Politics- Ribbon Clerks Commentary http://kbia.org/post/talking-politics-ribbon-clerks-commentary
85735 as http://kbia.orgTue, 16 Feb 2016 18:08:21 +0000Talking Politics- Ribbon Clerks Commentary Welcome to Talking Politics, KBIA’s Weekly show dedicated to talking about local and national politics. Today Terry Smith, a Columbia College political science professor and regular political commentator for KBIA, returns to the show for a commentary about an analogy he sees between a childhood passion of his and today’s presidential politics. The transcription of Terry Smith's commentary is below.Talking Politics - Analogy on Presidential Politicshttp://kbia.org/post/talking-politics-analogy-presidential-politics
84998 as http://kbia.orgTue, 02 Feb 2016 17:45:15 +0000Talking Politics - Analogy on Presidential PoliticsThis week on KBIA's "Talking Politics" we’ve brought back a familiar voice and contributor, Dr. Terry Smith. Dr. Smith is a regular political commentator for radio and television stations and is a political science professor at Columbia College. Today, he tells us how the 2016 presidential election is shaping up and what some of the major differences are between the 2012 and the 2016 presidential race.Talking Politics - Political Commentary http://kbia.org/post/talking-politics-political-commentary
79541 as http://kbia.orgTue, 20 Oct 2015 17:12:01 +0000Talking Politics - Political Commentary